Far Away
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: He watched her, saw how she gave everyone else her smile, except him. She watched him, saw him with her, and choked up whenever he came near. A three shot, the first set during the Virtual Reality and after, and the second, set before and after Founder's Day. The third, well, that's for you to decide.
1. Chapter 1

**Far Away**

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Summary: He watched her, saw how she gave everyone else her smile, except him. She watched him, saw him with her, and choked up whenever he came near. A three shot, the first set during the Virtual Reality and after, and the second, set before and after Founder's Day. The third, well, that's for you to decide. **

_On my knees, I'll ask_  
_Last chance for one last dance_  
_'Cause with you, I'd withstand_  
_All of hell to hold your hand_  
_I'd give it all_  
_I'd give for us_  
_Give anything but I won't give up_  
_'Cause you know,_  
_you know, you know_

_- Far Away, Nickelback_

He watched her, saw how she gave everyone else her smile, except him. She wouldn't even make eye contact with him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Carter go up to her, watched as the Sheriff wrapped his arms around the woman _he_ loved. He had to take deep breaths as the two shared a deep, loving kiss. It took all his will power not to rush to her and pull her out of Carter's arms.

He turned back when someone laid a hand on his shoulder.

Allison stood behind him. Grace, Holly, Fargo and the rest of the crew were behind her. They gathered around him, forming a tight circle, a strong bond. Swallowing the heartbreak, he pulled out the letter he'd written her before being found.

Just in case they didn't make it.

_Jojo,_

_Were you anyone else, I wouldn't ask this, and I know that you should get the romance and the flowers, the dinner and the small velvet box with the ring inside. You should get the white dress and the cake, the speeches and the church. But there's no guarantee that we'll come out of this alive. If we don't, I want you to stop by my apartment. Sitting in my desk drawer, is a small velvet box, with my grandmother's engagement ring inside._

_It's meant for you._

_It was_ always _meant for you, Jojo._

_If I don't come back to you, please, love, know that I love you._ _From the moment I first laid eyes on you- I've loved you all along, I always have and I always will. I miss you, Jojo. I miss my Head of Security, my sparring partner, my better half. I've been far away for far too long, and I need to get back to you. This mission was a mistake, because you weren't on it._

_I wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and shaking, memories of you clouding my mind. I keep dreaming that eventually you'll be with me, and that we'll have raven-haired, olive-skinned, chocolate-eyed children together, like we're meant to. And when that day comes, I'll never leave you, and I'll make sure you never go, because I couldn't bear it if we were apart._

_There are days when I feel as though it would be easier to stop breathing, stop living, if I don't see you. The images of you in my mind are all I have to keep me going, but they aren't enough. I need you in my arms, Jo, to remind me that I haven't lost my mind, and that this is real. That we are real. I know that it's impossible being a million miles apart, but a guy can dream, can't he?_

_If I don't survive this, please, Jojo, wear my ring._ _Take my name. It belongs to you, it always has._

_I love you, Josefina Lupo._

_And I pray and anticipate the day that you change your name. Because that will be the happiest day of my life. It'll be the day I slip that wedding band on your finger, and then I'll spend the rest of my life making you smile._

_But until that day comes, know this._

_I love you, very much._

_Until I come home, sweetheart, wear my ring and remember me._

_I love you, Mrs. Donovan._

_Remember that._

_I love you, Jojo. _

_- Zane_

He crumpled up the letter up and stuffed it in his pocket, before pulling away from the others. The couple stood talking softly, never removing themselves from each others' arms. Taking a deep breath, he fled Cafe Diem, tears in his eyes as he realized that he'd lost the woman he loved.

* * *

He looked up.

She stood, in full security uniform.

If his legs weren't already weak, he would have collapsed from the shock of seeing the woman he loved coming towards him. She slipped an arm around his waist and helped him stand, taking him to the control panel, so that they could get the others out.

Later, after he'd been checked over in the infirmary and cleared to go home, he reached into his pocket to pull out his keys.

Instead, he held a crumpled piece of paper.

_Jojo,_

The one word- her nickname, made his heart freeze, and he quickly shoved it back into his pocket before hurrying out of GD.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

_This time, This place_  
_Misused, Mistakes_  
_Too long, Too late_  
_Who was I to make you wait_  
_Just one chance_  
_Just one breath_  
_Just in case there's just one left_  
_'Cause you know,_  
_you know, you know_

_- Far Away, Nickelback_

Her breath caught in her throat. This couldn't be happening.

But it was.

He knelt before her, she held the small black box with the ring in it.

As she met his eyes, he spoke the three words she'd dreamed of him saying from the moment they met.

"Marry me, Jojo."

But instead of replying, she hesitated. Forced herself to slow down and really consider what the man before her was asking.

"I... I don't know what to say."

He took a deep breath. "How about yes?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. When Carter entered and ruined the whole thing, she watched Zane flee. He didn't stop at her call, didn't notice the tears that flooded her eyes.

* * *

They'd been thrown back into 1947.

And now they were back.

She rushed into Carter's office, still in her uniform, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Zane in the cell, his feet up and a magazine open in his grasp. Without stopping, she rushed to the bars.

"Zane! I... yes. I'm saying yes."

He looked up, confused for a moment.

"What are you talking about, Lupo? Saying yes to what?"

"To your proposal." She reached through the bars, dying to touch him. "The answer is yes, Zane. I'll marry you. I love you. So yes, yes! I'll marry you!"

He stared at her for a moment, speechless. Then, he laughed, catching her by surprise.

"Me marry you? In what universe?"

Her mouth drops, and she struggles to speak, shocked.

* * *

She watched him, saw him with her, and choked up whenever he came near. She couldn't believe that he was actually with... Zoe of all people.

After Carter pulls her from the infirmary, she rushes back to her office and collapses at her desk. Unable to control her tears, she reaches into her pocket to remove her phone, and instead, pulls out a folded piece of paper. Sniffling, she begins to read it.

_Zane,_

_I should have given you my answer earlier. Before being sent back here, to 1947. Yes, you read right. And, if we don't make it back, I want you to know that... that my answer is yes._

_My answer was_ always _yes, Zane_.

_I made a mistake, and by the time I realized it was too late, we'd already been sent back in time. Who was I to make you wait, when I should have been screaming it from the rooftops?_

_If I could just have one more chance, I'd tell you that I love you. I... I have loved you all along, from the moment you walked into Carter's office. Sure, I thought you were a pain in the ass, but underneath that, I was starting to fall in love._

_Just in case the five of us don't return, I want you to know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to slip that ring on my finger and pull me into a kiss and never let me go. I want to exchange vows with you, take your name, have your children..._

_I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I just hope I return to do just that. _

_I love you, Zane Donovan. _

_I always have, and I always will._

_Remember that. _

_I love you, Zane._

_- Jo_

Tears dripped onto the page, and after a moment, she crumpled it up, stuffing it back into her pocket before burying her face in her hands and sobbing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Rifiuto: Non Miriena**

**Thanks to Guest for reviewing 2.**

"Zane?"

The house was quiet.

Unusually quiet.

She didn't like it, and drew her gun, slowly making her way through the house. The kids were playing outside; she could hear the playful laughter and shouts of her children in the backyard as they chased the dog. But he was nowhere to be found.

Slowly, she stepped onto the upstairs landing and made her way towards the bedroom. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and aimed. Her husband looked up, confusion furrowing his brow.

"What are you doing, Jojo? Expecting an axe murderer?" He asked as she relaxed and put her gun back in the holster on her hip.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were up here. You didn't answer when I called." She said, going to the bed and sitting next to him.

"Sorry, babe, I just... I got sidetracked." He said, returning his gaze to whatever he held.

"What's that?" She asked, leaning over his shoulder to look. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"A letter. Written by you. I... found it tucked between the pages of one of your magazines when I was cleaning out the closet. It was addressed to me, but there was no address." He said; her dark eyes skimmed the words, words she recognized.

_'... if we __don't make it back, I want you to know that... m__y answer was_ always _yes, Zane_.

_If I could just have one more chance, I'd tell you that I love you...__ exchange vows with you, take your name, have your children... __rest of my life with you...'_

Tears clouded her vision as she looked up at him. It had been years since she'd revealed their time traveling to him, but still, at times, it stung. He reached up, cupping her cheek, before capturing her lips in a kiss. When he pulled away, she got up and went to the dresser, pulling open the drawer that held the lingerie he'd given her years earlier and digging through it. Eventually, she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and went back to the bed. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed it out and handed it to him. He took it, recognizing his own handwriting.

His blue eyes skimmed over his own writing, before he looked up into her face.

"You... how..."

"I... I found it in the pocket of a pair of your jeans a few years ago, and... kept it. I read it over and over, and each time my heart broke. I couldn't imagine losing you, and..." He didn't hear the rest of her words, instead turning back to his writing.

What didn't make sense, was that he'd written this not long after the Astreaus went missing; remembered planning on giving it to her in the Virtual Reality, only to discover her with Carter. As his eyes skimmed the familiar words, the heartbreak returned.

_'... stop by my apartment. Sitting in my desk drawer, is a small velvet box, with my grandmother's engagement ring inside._

_It's meant for you._

_It was_ always _meant for you, Jojo._

_There are days when I feel as though it would be easier to stop breathing, stop living, if I don't see you. I need you in my arms, Jo, to remind me that I haven't lost my mind, and that this is real. That we are real...__ don't survive this... wear my ring._ _Take my name. It belongs to you, it always has...'_

She looked up at him, reaching out to wipe the tears from his eyes. He grabbed her hand, stopping her. Gently, he pressed a kiss to her palm, before moving his lips to the sensitive patch of skin on her small, delicate wrist. His eyes met hers, and she found herself unable to pull her gaze away. Eventually, she closed her eyes.

"What I don't understand, is... I wrote this and... and I planned to give it to you in the matrix, but... but in that, you were with Carter. I... I thought I'd tossed it, but... I guess I hadn't..."

Her eyes snapped open and she reached out, tilting his chin up. Even now, years after the crew had come back, after everything that had happened, all the heartache, his voice was still tinged with jealousy.

"Zane, I chose you. I always chose you. No matter what reality, it was always you. Always." She took his face in her hands and stared into his blue eyes. "I love you. Only you. I've loved you all along, Zane, in both realities, in all realities."

He pulled away. "But that doesn't change the fact that in that matrix, you were with Carter-"

"Zane, look at me. I'm not going anywhere. I've married you, had your children, I love you and the life we've built. There's no need to hold onto this jealousy any more. Carter is your friend, he's with Allison, I'm with you. I'm not leaving, babe. Never. I never left you. I could never leave you, my heart wouldn't allow it."

He wrapped her in his arms, capturing her lips in a sweet, loving kiss. Slowly, his hand moved down her side, gently tracing the outline of the bra beneath her blouse before running the length of her waist and pulling her close. He kissed her, relishing in the feel of her body under his hands.

When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against her, happy to have the mother of his children in his arms. She looked up at him. "Never let me go, Zane."

He kissed her gently.

"Never again, Jojo. I'll never let you go again. I promise."


End file.
